Where’s the pink? Public housing in Neptune Township, NJ. Blogfinger photo. May, 2016.
Blogfinger Medical Commentary. Paul Goldfinger, MD, FACC
Many of you understand the meaning of the pink ribbons. Those who do probably don’t need to be reminded to get mammograms, but, for those of you who don’t know what the pink ribbons mean, they are supposed to increase breast cancer awareness—especially the need to keep up with mammogram screenings. I won’t attempt to speak for Meridian, the mammogram-industrial complex that sponsors the pink campagn, but I can share a few facts about breast cancer, since it is May.
About 65% of all women over age 40 do keep up with mammogram screening, but there are many who do not There are a variety of reasons for that, and the Susan G. Komen website can tell you more on that subject (click link below)
It used to be that black women had a lower percent of mammogram screenings than whites, but that difference no longer exists. But it is still true that black women have higher mortality rates from breast cancer than whites.
From the Susan G. Komen web site. 2016.
“For example, in 2013 (most recent data available), breast cancer mortality was 39 percent higher in African-American women than in white women.”
In view of that, you would think that the breast cancer pink program at Meridian would reach out to black neighborhoods with their pink ribbons and an all-out publicized education effort.
But if you drive by the public housing “projects,” as I did, in Asbury Park and Neptune, there are no pink ribbons to be seen. This is not the first time I have pointed that out.
Meridian should be engaged in an outreach program for African-American communities in Monmouth County. So how about some pink ribbons and pamphlets over there? Actually they should send a group of women, armed with facts and pamphlets, to knock on doors and set up booths in those places. Better awareness in African-American populations could likely improve those mortality stats.
The statistics regarding the latest controversies about mammogram screenings can be found on BF by typing “breast cancer” or “mammograms” into our search box on the top right of this page.
Paul Goldfinger, MD
CACHAO: